Change of Mind
by geeklady
Summary: Dean and Sam ask the Slayers for help after the opening of the Devil's Gate. Dean/Buffy
1. Chapter 1

**Hi All,**

**Just a quick word to let you know when this story is based. Its season 3 of Supernatural and after the events of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Year 2007. Ages are:-**

**Buffy: 26**

**Faith: 27**

**Sam: 24**

**Dean: 28**

**This is my first fic so please review and let me know what you think. Thank you!  
**

* * *

Life in Cleveland had been inconsistent since the move from SunnyD. One minute they are up to their necks in demony goodness, the next its complete dullsville. Normally, dullsville? Not a bad thing, but being in charge of Slayer Incorporated, it meant paperwork. That, or impending doom. Buffy took a look around her modest office and wondered if impending doom would really be that bad.

"Hey B, what's crackin'?" Faith asked as she flopped in the desk chair directly across from Buffy.

"Weighing the pros and cons of another apocalypse, you?"

"Well, I definitely have something that would interest you," Faith replied with a smile, propping her legs up on Buffy's desk. Somehow after becoming a high ranking, respected member of The Council and The Scooby Gang, Faith still managed to portray the definition of nonchalance. She was still clad in her trademark biker clothing, most of it being tight and/or leather. _I wonder if her pjs come in leather_ Buffy thought with an internal snort.

"Don't leave me hanging, what's the what?" Buffy sat back in her chain, folding her arms underneath her chest.

"You remember me telling you about those total hunnies I met while hunting that Wendigo, back in '05?" Buffy nodded in acknowledgement. "Well I gave them my number in case they ever could use a hand in the slayage, and I just received a call from their boy Bobby, and something big is happening. Like 'could use the head honcho of the scoobs' big."

Buffy snorted "You really think Giles is going to let me just run off to help some huntin' hotties?"

"B, you're the boss, do what you want! Plus, this is kinda the reason why everything has been quiet. All the things that go bump in the night have been keeping their heads down. Apparently someone high on the food chain downstairs has been working real hard on something, something that just exploded in South Wyoming." Faith cocked her head to the side, watching Buffy process all the information just handed to her.

"Bobby wants to know if we'll go on the road with them, lend a helping hand and all that. Things are about to get real dark, real quick and we could really make a difference. I mean, aren't you sick of being stuck behind a desk? I know I am! This isn't what Slayers are for, we should be out there fighting the good fight!"

"I guess Will and Kennedy could handle things here for a couple of months, I mean, they have been in South America for a while now," Buffy trailed off in thought, wondering if she should really be considering leaving her post.

"Look B, the boys are going to be here tomorrow, they just finished up a job in Elizabethtown and will be hangin' around for a couple of days before going off again, just talk to them, sleep on it and we'll go from there." Faith said as she was getting up to leave.

"Faith, wait! If I am going to be riding off in the distance with two guys, you could at least tell me their names"

"Sam and Dean Winchester"

* * *

"Sammy, please explain to me why we are even bothering with these chicks?" Dean asked for what seemed like the tenth time, as he turned down the Zeppelin playing on the radio. It had been a long night, and they decided to skip town before anyone started asking questions about the dead townspeople that had been possessed. The lack of sleep was starting to take its toll on Dean's patience.

"Bobby thinks they can help, and if we're gunna be honest with ourselves, we kind of need all the help we can get," Sam replied with a sigh. "I mean you saw what that Faith chick could do! Imagine a whole army of them!"

"That's what worries me, man. I mean, we both know where there power comes from. You can't tell me that doesn't worry you too. Bunch of teenage girls with demon essence, there is bound to be a defect or two."

"Yeah I guess it does, but I don't see how we have much of a choice. This is our fault, Dean. We didn't stop the Gate from opening and now people are suffering. If asking them for help can solve things, than that's what we're going to do." Sam didn't bother explaining his other reason for going to the slayers for help. He knew his brother would be against it, but if they are as well informed as Faith implied, than they might have a way to help his brother out of his deal. He'd need some time to figure out if they can be trusted with the details of their life, and hopefully hunting with some of them will give him the time he needs.

"I don't know, dude. Working with others never seems to go well." Dean replied with a quick look at Sam before turning his eyes back to the road.

"When have we ever worked with others? We've got Bobby and we got Jo and Ellen, and let's be honest, we've never really hunted with any of them. Maybe it's time we try and branch out, because obviously working with just the two of us isn't making much of a difference in the big scheme of things."

Dean stayed quiet for a little while contemplating what Sam was saying. Working with people always sat wrong with Dean. One slip up and someone else's blood could be on his hands. It's hard enough hunting with Sammy, always having that kind of pressure not to mess things up, let alone with people that have their own family waiting at home. Working with the super squad would be different, obviously. Super powers and hunting experience would make them tougher, more resilient. Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.

"Fine, Sammy. We'll do it your way. Just don't say I don't do anything for ya." Dean replied with a smirk"

"Yeah Dean, you're a real champ."

Dean laughed as Sam rolled his eyes.

"What kinda name is Buffy, anyway?" Dean asked with a snort.


	2. Chapter 2

The Winchesters pulled up to Slayer Central a little bit after lunch. As they sat in the Impala, they couldn't drag their eyes off the massive establishment that sat in the middle of a giant acreage.

The drive up to the school had been impressive. The long driveway was lined with large beech and oak trees. It gave the property a classic, olden feel. It eventually came to a fork which circled around an expansive garden, with the school's entry way directly across from them. The building itself looked like something out of a movie. It reminded the boys of Professor X's mansion from X-Men. It had a medieval look to it, elegant and charming. If the boys were being honest with themselves, they would of found it very intimidating.

Sam and Dean eventually got out of the car and were leaning against the passenger side door, staring at the stairs that lead up to the headquarters of the American branch of The Council.

"How could they afford something like this? I mean hunting isn't exactly a nine to five." Dean asked without taking his eyes off the building in front of him.

"Apparently, their leader Buffy led a raid on a Swiss bank a couple of years back. Figured saving the world a bunch made up for it. I think Bobby also mentioned them having some pretty wealthy investors too. They've taken the money and invested it in School's like this. That way the Slayers that are being recruited can still learn about the basics, you know, Maths, History and English and all that, as well as the fighting essentials. It's actually pretty genius. I mean, these girls still get a chance at a normal future, if they really want it, but they are still being trained to defend against what's out there."

"Jeez Sammy, did you pick up a brochure or something?"

Sam rolled as his eyes as he replied, "no, but I thought it might be a good idea for at least one of us to know what's going on before we meet them. And can you cut it with that Sammy crap while we're in there? We should at least try and act professional when meeting them"

"Professional? We're hunters for Pete's sake, how are we meant to act?" Dean snorted. "Whatever, look we may as well head in, _Sam_. They already know we're here." Dean said as he pointed to one of the cameras positioned around the school.

They walked up the stairs and went directly to the double doors underneath the sign stating "Athena School for Girls". Once they opened the doors, they walked into an expansive foyer that had been converted into a reception slash waiting room. A 20 something brunette woman waited behind the desk. She looked up from her computer and smiled, adjusting the glasses that had slightly fallen down her nose.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, how can I help you?

"Hi, I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean. We're here to see Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane."

"Unfortunately Ms Summers is teaching a class at the moment, however Ms Lehane should be free. Take a seat and I'll call her extension."

"No need, Tiff, I saw 'em pull up" Faith said as she leant against the doorframe to the boy's left. "Hey there fellas, long time, no see. Heard you've been causing some trouble" Faith said with a wink. Her eyes started roaming over the large forms of both men. "I've always been good at handling trouble", eyes landing on the tallest of the Winchester brothers, making him blush.

"Ms Lehane, should I advise Ms Summers that the Winchester's have arrived?"

"Yeah, Tiff. Just let her know that I took the boys for a tour of the grounds. She'll be able to catch up. C'mon boys." Without another word, Faith walked toward the front door and held it open for them.

Once outside, Faith positioned herself between the two boys and showed them as much as she could without going back inside the building. She pointed out the Olympic sized pool, as well as the faculty parking, and various training grounds. The training grounds were by far the most impressive. It included a large running track, target range, for crossbows, as well as guns, and sports grounds for the girls looking for some recreational exercise.

"Not that this isn't great or anything, but I was under the impression we would just be coming here to talk business." Dean said, leaning against the concrete railing that overlooked the back of the expansive property. Sam looked horrified at his brother's rude comment.

"I figured we'd wait for El Capitan before we got down to the nitty gritty. B hates to feel like she's missin' out, ya know? She shouldn't be too long."

"She's right here" a voice came from behind them. Dean turned around to give the Slayer's fearless leader a look. He always pictured Buffy to be a harsh looking woman with the look of someone that has way too much on her shoulders. Instead he got a beautiful, blonde, 26 year old woman that looked like she just stepped off a fashion runway. Dean didn't know why he was so surprised, Faith was obviously a babe, so was it really such a surprise that Buffy was too? The shock must have been written all over his face, because Sam nudged Dean to pay attention.

"Buffy Summers" She reached out her hand to shake Dean's, and then Sam's.

"Dean Winchesters" "Sam Winchester, it's a pleasure to meet you"

"Oh please! The pleasure is all mine! Faith didn't shut up about you two for weeks when she finally came home"

"And what can I say, B? They are like wine, only got better with age" Faith replied with a roaming eye.

Buffy laughed and gave her attention back to Sam and Dean. "Sorry Faith gave you the roundabout tour, I asked her to wait for me before taking you inside."

"Why is that, if you don't mine me asking?" Sam asked with a shy smile.

"Well there are a few reasons, one being that I really love doing the tour myself," Buffy replied with a smile. "Also, we don't really get a lot of outsiders here. The school is pretty private and I didn't really want the girls to worry about two strangers wandering about. I am sure Faith could have handled any questions, but I wanted to be here myself."

Dean gave the original Slayer a long look. It seemed weird that someone as carefree and bubbly as she seemed to be could be the leader of such a large and professional organisation.

"So when we arrived, the receptionist mentioned that you were teaching. I figured the headmistress wouldn't have to do any of that kinda stuff?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow

"Headmistress? I like that" Buffy laughed. "To be honest, I am more of a figure head. I mean, at the end of the day, we are very much a democracy. All decisions at this school are made by Faith, Andrew and I. We all have equal say. Plus, let's be honest, there aren't many people qualified to teach the kind of things our girls need to learn. Shall we head inside?"

"Lead the way," Dean replied.

Buffy lead them through a large door at the back of the school that emerged into a large circular room, with a set of stair cases on both sides of the room, and a long hallway on the ground floor in between the staircases.

"If you follow that hallway down to the very end, you would end up back at reception. Along the hallway, you will find the kitchen, dining hall, and laundries. The girls can't really find part time jobs with the amount of studying they do, so if the girls need money, we organise them to work on the grounds or around the school itself, working in the kitchens, doing laundry, stuff like that. We do employ other people but it's hard to find people that can be trusted, you know? Anyway, the staircase on the right leads to the girls living quarters, and the stair case on the left lead to the classrooms, as well as work out areas, and things like that. If you follow both to the end, you'll come to The Council room, as well as staff and guess accommodation. That's where you will be staying. I hope you don't mind sharing a room? No? Okay, follow me."

They ascended the left stair case so that Sam and Dean could have a good look at the training rooms. A lot of the rooms were currently filled with girls either training or learning. Some of the girls looked as young as 12, and as old as 25. It seemed like most of the teachers were female. Sam asked why that was, and Faith explained, "When the potentials were activated, lot of 'em were already pretty old for Slayer standards, early twenties. Once we got our shit together and started gatherin' 'em together, we trained a few of the older ones, the ones that came with us from Sunnyhell, to help train the younger ones. First it was a bit crazy but eventually it worked out."

"Some of the girls go to College, which is great, because most of the time they get degrees that can still help us out. They get degrees in teaching, law, and medicine. They might not want to fight, but they still want to lend a helping hand. Some of the Slayers also become Watchers. Now that was definitely new. Giles almost has a heart attack when Rachel asked to be trained." Buffy and Faith both laughed as Buffy finished up her story.

Dean and Sam cast a quick look at each other, extremely confused at the casual name dropping of people they didn't really know. If the girls noticed, they pretended like they didn't.

"Here we are. Our war room" Buffy pointed to large, double oak doors. As they stepped inside the room, both men stopped and stared at their surroundings. The room was large and square, with two separate landings. In front of them were three steps that lead down to a large rectangle table, surrounded by chairs. To their left and right were sets of stairs that lead to a platform that wrapped around the room. Both left and right sides of the rooms were lined with bookshelves, containing more supernatural books than the boys have ever seen, as well as glass cases filled with what they assumed were mystical objects, and elaborate weapons. It was hunter heaven. However, what really grabbed their eyes was the back wall. It was covered with televisions that were showing all the surveillance footage of the cameras that covered the school. All except for one television, bigger than the rest, right in the middle. That television had some sort of medieval computer game covering the screen. In front of the televisions, sitting in a swivel chair, with his back to the newly arrived group was a wiring blond man. He was so engrossed in his video game that he had not heard the big doors leading into the War Room open and close.

"Fus Ro Dah that, motherfu-"

"Andrew!" Buffy chastised.

The young man jumped up quickly, causing the controller he had been using to fall to the ground.

"Buffy! I, I didn't realise you would be in just yet" Andrew stuttered out as he switched off the game. He finally composed himself to notice the strangers staring at him with smirks on their faces. "Who are the newbies, my fearless leader?"

"Could you quit with that stuff, Andrew? It's cramping my style. This is Dean and Sam Winchester. Sam, Dean, this is Andrew Wells. He is part of the Holy Trinity here in Slayerville, Ohio. Andrew, the Winchesters are here because they have some business to discuss."

"Excellent! Well why don't we all take a seat? Would anyone like some refreshments? Drinks? Food? Anything?"

Everyone shook their heads and took their seats. Andrew, Faith and Buffy sat directly across from Sam and Dean, with Andrew taking out a small lap top to take notes of their discussion and Buffy sitting in the middle

Faith looked at the boys, and dropped her casual attitude. "Alrighty boys, why don't ya start from the top? B, Andy and I will need to know the dets before we go makin' any decisions."

Sam looked over at Dean and indicated for him to take up their story. "Okay, well it goes like this."

* * *

An hour later, Dean was wrapping up their story. He had started at the very beginning, with their mother's death and finished with the death of the Yellow Eyed Demon. He did leave out some particular details, such as their friend's names and Dean's deal. He didn't really think it was any of their business.

Buffy looked at Faith, who just raised a brow and shrugged, letting Buffy take the lead. Andrew was too busy finishing his notes to pay much attention to the girls.

Buffy looked back at the boys, weighing them with her eyes. They could feel themselves fidgeting under her gaze. She seemed to come to some sort of mental decision, and leaned back in her chair and folded her arms underneath her chest.

"We'll help you. Not really ready to commit to any course of action, at least not until we can talk to some of our colleges. But we will definitely help."

Dean and Sam let go of a breath, they hadn't even realised they were holding. Faith smiled and leaned forward in her chair, looking at the boys "told you we would lend a helping hand."

"Yes well, it is our sacred duty and all that. Andrew, could you show the Winchesters to their rooms? I'll set up a web conference with Xander, Willow and Giles for an hour from now." Buffy looked back at Sam and Dean, "Feel free to venture down to the dining hall. Dinner is usually served from 6 to 9. You are also more than welcome to use any of the training grounds. We should have an answer for you tomorrow morning. We'll meet back here at 9 to discuss."


	3. Chapter 3

"You gotta admit, Dean, this place is pretty impressive"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, you were right and I was wrong. It's definitely not that I was expecting, that for sure." Dean replied, as he swung open the door that lead to their room.

The room itself was huge, with two large queen beds and a large flat screen television mounted on the wall directly across from the beds. At the far side of the room, was a door that served as an entry into a large fully equipped bathroom. It was far better accommodations than the boys were used to.

"What do you think about Buffy?" Dean asked, trying to seem casual. "I wonder if she likes a bit of fun." Dean finished with an eyebrow wiggle at Sam.

"Dean. No. Please do not start this partnership with them thinking you're a creep. Just keep it in your pants for two seconds, okay?"

"Okay grandma! Jeez. But just this one time, in case you've forgotten, I don't have long on this Earth and I want to spend my last month's living it up as much as I possibly can, capish?"

Sam replied by rolling his eyes and lying on his bed, turning on the television. "We may as well chill out. Might be the last time we can relax for a while"

"Sounds like a plan, Sammy."

* * *

The group met back in the War Room by 9AM the next morning. As the boys walked in, they could see Buffy and Faith gossiping at the far end of the table, stopping every now and then to giggle at whatever was being said.

Dean barely noticed anything else in the room other than Buffy. He couldn't get over how truly gorgeous she really was, especially for someone who was meant to be a seasoned warrior. Even dressed simply in black slacks, and a purple satin shirt, she was breathtaking.

As if sensing someone watching her, Buffy turned to find Dean Winchester staring at her. Dean offered her a smile in greeting, which Buffy quickly returned, before going back to her conversation with Faith.

Sam and Dean took their seats at the conference table, and started talking about any maintenance the Impala might need before hitting the road. It soon become obvious to Sam that his brother would rather stare at a certain blonde Slayer than pay attention to whatever Sam was saying.

Sam cleared his throat to get Dean's attention, before elbowing him in the ribs.

"Ow!" Dean exclaimed with shock, finally taking his eyes off Buffy and scowling at Sam.

Sam nodded his head towards Buffy and gave Dean a pointed glare. Dean seemed to get Sam's meaning, and gave his brother an awkward shrug before staring down at his hands, which were resting in his lap.

Faith had also noticed where Dean's attention laid and couldn't help but think that her Sister Slayer could use a little bit of stress relief. Stress relief of the naughty kind, she thought with a chuckle.

Andrew, however, was so busy setting up breakfast that he was completely oblivious to the drama unfolding around him.

Once Andrew noticed the boy were finished their conversation, he offered them a huge smile and said, "I asked around and found out you hadn't eaten. I hope you're hungry!"

"Andrew likes to make sure everyone is fed and looked after", Buffy said quickly squeezing Andrews shoulder with a smile before taking her seat.

"It's a pleasure to make sure my girls are well looked after!" Andrew replied, while taking his own seat.

The Winchesters looked over the spread that Andrew had provided, and were amazed. It looked like Andrew had grabbed just about everything available from the kitchens including, eggs, bacon, fruit, French toast and several different beverages.

"Awesome!" Dean declared as he started heaping up his plate.

Andrew beamed at the compliment.

Once they had all eaten, Buffy cleared her throat and looked at the boys. "Okay, so here's the deal: we've got two other schools in America, one in New York and one in Washington. We have decided to send out ten of our most senior girls from each school. The girls will be sent out in groups of two, doing exactly what you do, driving cross county and hunting whatever they come across. A select group of five from each school will stay back and go out when called, kind of like emergency teams for big jobs. That should put a big dent in whatever was released from the Devil's Gate. Those black eyed demons you deal with aren't exactly normal for us so we will need you to provide some information about hunting them," With Sam's nod at the last comment, Buffy continued, "Good. Now, we were under the impression from Bobby that you would like Faith to travel with you, taking down the big guys. Is that right?"

"It would certainly help." Sam replied.

"Great! Faith has already signed on, but there is going to be a slight change of plans."

Sam and Dean looked at each other in confusion, before Dean asked suspiciously, "What kind of change?"

"I'll be coming too", Buffy replied with a smug smile.

For a second Dean and Sam sat in silence, staring at the blonde Slayer in shock. Eventually Sam decided to ask the more obvious question, "What about the school? Wouldn't two of the leaders leaving cause an issue?"

"Andy boy here handles most of the administration stuff anyway. Red and her little lover will be comin' to handle any of the slack" Faith replied with shrug. "What do you boys reckon? Think you could handle us?"

Sam and Dean looked at it each other for a moment, with Sam shrugging his shoulders as if finishing some unspoken conversation. Dean turned back to the Slayers with a smile and said "we are more than prepared for hunting with two beautiful woman," earning a wink from Faith and a snort of laughter from Buffy.

* * *

Buffy had been staring at her duffle bag for the past 5 minutes. How the heck was she meant to pack everything she needed in a _duffle bag_? It's usually not enough having a large suitcase, let alone this little scrap of material.

She had already started mentally packing her bags when Dean had announced that they would have to travel light if they wanted to travel comfortably, and in that 30 second sentence, all her clothing plans had crumbled.

Buffy sighed and started taking out any clothes that wouldn't be needed for hunting. She also packed her personal care products and any fake identification she might need. She didn't usually carry around fake ID, due to The Council's legal contacts, but Sam said that they would need to go undercover every now and then for their cases.

Her bag was just about packed when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in" she yelled from her bedroom.

Faith sauntered into the bedroom, and flopped straight on Buffy's queen bed. "Gettin' excited?"

"More like, nervous. It's been a while since I've lived the normal Slayer life. It seems like forever since I've actually done any slaying. I spend most of my time behind a desk now."

"Normal Slayer life? Ain't no such thing," Faith replied with a laugh, "but I know what you mean. I am going to miss the school."

"It's not just that." Buffy sat on the bed facing Faith. "We hardly know these guys and now we're about to embark on a cross country adventure with them? Plus, I feel like they are keeping secrets from us. Makes my spidey senses go all tingly", Buffy finished with a shiver.

"And we ain't? C'mon, B, be real. We haven't told them about Red being Glenda the Good witch due to the usual Hunter hostility. They're bound to keep some tid bits to themselves as well." Buffy nodded but still seemed unconvinced.

"Look, I get where you're coming from, I do, but I've been around 'em and they're five by five. Trust me. Plus we really need to blow off some steam. Being cooped up at the school all the time? It can't be good for the skin."

Buffy smiled, "I _suppose_ you're right. It'll be good to get back to the down and dirty of being a Slayer. Worse comes to worse, they suck, we bail."

"That's the spirit! Plus, those two? Total babes. Did you see how Deano was looking at you today? He was basically burnin' a hole through your skull!" Faith stretched back on the bed with a throaty laugh.

"Oh no! No babes for Buffy. Babes always end up bad. Like skipping town or dying kind of bad. I'll stick to hunting, thank you very much!"

"Whatever, B. It's about time you got back on the horse. I know what happened to Spike sucks, but that was almost 4 years ago. The most dating you've done is with that boring vet from the next town over. He is _barely_ worth a mention. Dawnie keeps saying you'll be joining a convent any moment."

"Yeah, because shacking up with two vampires won't be reason enough for me to burn up as soon as I step into a convent", Buffy sarcastically replied while rolling her eyes. "C'mon, we said we'd meet them at their car in a couple of minutes." Buffy said while grabbing her bag and Scythe.

* * *

"I am starting to get uneasy about this, Sammy. Travelling with two chicks can't be good. This is not going to end well, I just know it", Dean rambled.

"Whatever happened to being prepared for hunting with two beautiful women?" Sam replied with a smirk.

"Do you really think they would have accepted a 'no'? It was either this or nothin'. Right about now nothin' is sounding pretty good."

"I don't see what your problem is. They can obviously handle themselves, and we could really use the help", Sam said while throwing his arms up in frustration.

Dean cut off his reply when he noticed the two Slayers coming down the stairs, followed closely by Andrew. He was a tad relieved by their arrival, because he really had _no_ _idea_ why he was so anxious about the Slayers travelling with them.

Andrews face was red and puffy, from what Dean could only assume was from crying. "I can't believe you are going to leave me like this! I hate Kennedy! She is mean and snarky. Please don't go. Please please please. I'll stop talking about Star Wars. I'll stop playing video games. I'll stop following you around with the camera. _Anything_."

"Andrew! Calm down! We will be back by Christmas, remember?" Buffy said as she turned around to hug Andrew goodbye.

"Yeah Andy, nothin' will keep us away. Chin up, champ. Don't let those little monsters in there give you any crap, okay?"

"Fine! Just don't forget to clear out that nest on your way out of town, okay?"

"Yeah yeah", Faith replied as she gave Andrew a hug big enough to lift him off the ground.

"Nest? What nest?" Dean asked as he watched Andrew walk back up the stairs, giving the blonde dork a little wave.

"There is a nest of Vampires on the other side of town. I figured we could dust on our way out." Buffy replied with a shrug. "That cool?"

"Whatever, you like, princess." Dean replied while putting the girl's bags in the trunk. As he turned back to Buffy, he got a good look at the shiny, red scythe that she was carrying, but didn't notice the death eyes she was giving him for calling her princess. "Pretty axe." He remarked with a smirk

"All the better to chop you with." Buffy said with a flip of her hair as she jumped into the back seat of the Impala.

Dean laughed as he closed the trunk of the car.

"Alright, let's hit the road. I wanna hit these vamps before sun down" Faith said as she took her seat in the back. "Sweet ride, by the way."

* * *

The four hunters had been scoping out the warehouse for the past ten minutes, getting a clear idea of the layout.

"Andy said there should be about ten of em'. Easy pickins if you ask me." Faith looked at Buffy as she shared her sentence and they shared a grin. She gave Sam and Dean a quick glance before continuing.

"Should probably give you two a heads up, these vamps aren't like the ones you're probably used to. Being so close to the Hellmouth makes 'em different. More ways to kill 'em but a lot stronger. They'll also look a bit different."

"I was thinking maybe Faith and I could take the lead on this one. It's been a while and we were looking for a bit of fun." Buffy said, without taking her eyes of the warehouse.

"Sure." Sam replied before Dean had time to butt in. He wanted to see what a Slayer could really do.

They made their way to the front of the building as a group and split up to look for any possible escape routes. Not seeing any, they made their way back to the front door.

Buffy and Faith looked at each, nodded and in unison kicked in the door. They charged into the warehouse, taking out a vampire each before regrouping and taking on the remaining adversaries.

Sam and Dean stayed by the front door, taking in the fight before them. Sam had to admit, they were impressive. More than impressive, they were brilliant. They fought with such grace and agility that is was almost frightening.

Their moves were in sync as they took down vampire after vampire. At one point, Sam thought he would have to step in to help Faith finish off a particularly vicious vampire, but before he had a chance, Faith called out Buffy's name and Buffy threw the Scythe in Faith's direction. Faith caught the Scythe without taking her eyes off her opponent and beheaded him in one graceful movement.

Sam turned to Dean to voice his thoughts, but was stopped by the look on Dean's face. Dean's face was filled with unabashed admiration.

He followed his brother's line of sight to see Buffy finishing off a vampire with a flick of her wrist and a stake into the vampire's heart. Sam turned his head back to his brother to see that Dean's expression hadn't changed in the minute or two Sam had spent watching Buffy fight.

"Dean?"

"Sammy, she's amazing."

"Yeah Dean, they both are." Sam replied, as if he was talking to a child.

As if a bucket of water had been dropped on his head, Dean snapped out of his reverenced stare, to look at a smirking Sam.

"Cram it, bitch." Dean said, making Sam laugh.

Eventually, the leader of the vampires came forward to engage Buffy, as Faith took out the last two vampire cronies.

"I'm going to kill you for this, Slayer", the leader snarled out

"Yeah, I'm shaking in my stylish, yet affordable, boots." Buffy quipped before landing a round house kick to the vamps face. While he was down, she grabbed a stake out of her back pocket and plunged the stake into his heart. "Laters, wrinkly."

"Jeez, B. You think after all these years you'd quit with the wise cracks."

"Not likely. Who would I be without my quips?" Buffy turned to face the boys. "Are you guy's hungry? I could definitely eat."

Faith and Buffy walked out the door, leaving Dean and Sam staring after them in shock. Usually after a fight like that, Sam and Dean would be floored with exhaustion, but the Slayers walked away as if it was nothing more than a light jog.

"I don't know about you, B, but I could go a burger."

"Perfection. Are you boys coming or not?"


	4. Chapter 4

**As always, reviews are muchly appreciated. Thank you to anyone that has already reviewed!**

* * *

Chapter four

The seven hour journey to Albany, New York had gone quickly. A majority of the time had been spent swapping monster stories, trying their hardest to top each other. Eventually they stopped talking and just lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching the scenery as they drove.

Even without knowing each other, they seemed to have an instant connection, the kind of connection that could only come from having shared the same life experiences.

The Impala pulled into a seedy looking motel around seven that evening, just before Buffy and Faith had a chance to complain about their hunger.

"Faith and I will check in, while you two scout for some grub, sound good?" Buffy asked while climbing out of the car.

"Whatever makes you happy, Princess." Dean replied, oblivious to another set of death eyes received from Buffy.

Faith linked her arm with Buffy's as they walked into the motel's office.

"I told you this was a good idea, B. Open road, just you, me, and a couple of hotties. Ain't nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah yeah, you are so very wise. Let's just get some rooms, yeah?"

As they walked towards the counter, a balding, aged man appeared from the back room and gave the girls a lecherous grin as he eyed them up and down. Faith smiled back and gave Buffy the signal to let her handle it. Buffy nodded and walked over to the brochure board.

"Heya stud, need a couple of rooms, think you could help a girl out?"

* * *

The Winchesters met the girls back at the car after getting dinner at a fast food restaurant from across the street.

"We got rooms 9 and 10. They have an adjoining door, just in case we need to talk or something." Buffy said as she let herself into the room she would be sharing with Faith. "So what's the deal with this case?"

"We've received reports of what seems to be vampire attacks at the local clubs. We figured it would be a good place for us to start", Sam replied as he followed the girls into their rooms.

"Sounds like our kinda job." Faith agreed as she sat on the small dining table near the door.

"Yeah well we figured we'd eat, catch a little bit of shut eye, and head out in about three hours. Sound good?" Dean asked as he got his food out of the paper bag.

"Sounds peachy with a side of keen." Buffy replied, with a mouth full of burger.

* * *

The group arrived at the club around 11PM, and started scouting the surrounding alleys, in two groups, Buffy with Dean, and Sam with Faith.

Faith had spent most of the search in silence, but after a while the boredom was killing her. If she had to be without her sister slayer, she wasn't going to do it silence.

"So Sammy, what was it like livin the normal life? Ya know, Standford and all that, " Faith asked suddenly, startling Sam.

"Uh, it was normal, I guess. I don't know," Sam awkwardly replied, with a shrug of his shoulders.

"C'mon Stretch, you gotta give me more than that."

"Honestly? It was great. I never chose to be a hunter. I got to choose to go to Stanford and for the first time in my life, I had something that was my own. It was the best thing that ever happened to me." Sam said with a smile at Faith.

"But here you are, hunting with big bro?"

"Yeah well, after Jess, I guess I understood what Dad hunted for."

"Still eats you up, doesn't it? Thinkin there was something you could have done? Well I don't know if anyone ever told ya this, but it ain't your fault she's gone. It's his. The bastard who did it. No need to carry that on yourself. This life is hard enough without keepin' a tally."

Sam looked down at Faith and was surprised to see her looking at him with eyes full of understanding and strength. Usually after talking about Jess, all anyone ever offered him was pity. It was a refreshing change.

"What about you? You ever dream of greener pastures?"

"Being a Slayer is a greener pasture for me. Life wasn't the brightest before I was called. Wasn't the brightest for the first couple of years after being Called either. Not until we blew up SunnyD anyway. I kinda got my groove after that. Found my place in the world, ya know?"

"Never heard someone be so optimistic about being a hunter. Most hunters are grouchy old men." Sam said with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, having B and the Scoobs around helps a bunch. Support is the key, and all that. Stick with us kid, and you'll go far," Faith finished with a wink and a smile, making Sam laugh even harder.

"Look, we're obviously not having much luck here. Why don't we head back to the hotel room and see if Big Brother and B did any better?"

* * *

In another alley three blocks away, an entirely different conversation was taking place.

"Look sweetheart, I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers." Dean said coming to a halt in front of Buffy, making her scowl and put her hands on her hips.

"Well look here, _sweetheart_, you may be top dog with your little hunter buddies, but you're playing in the big leagues now, so when I say, 'I'll talk lead", I am gunna take lead, mmkay?"

"Big leagues? Honey, you haven't shown me anything I haven't already seen."

From that point, the argument quickly deteriorated into yelling and name calling, and ended with Buffy calling Dean a 'James Dean wannabe, knuckle dragger' before stomping away.

Buffy was so angry she almost didn't notice the barely conscious man slumped against the brick wall of the alley. Leaning down, Buffy tilted his head to find a large bite mark on the side of his neck

"We ain't finished here, Buf-. What happened? Vamp attack?"

"Looks like it. Sir, can you hear me? Who did this to you? Where did they go?"

The man gestured vaguely down a nearby alleyway before slipping into unconsciousness.

Before Buffy had the chance the react, Dean had whipped his machete from his behind his back and started sprinting down the alleyway, looking for the creature responsible.

Slowing down, Dean rolled up the sleave of his jacket, and made a large cut across his forearm.

Raising his arm in the air, Dean yelled out into the night, "Smell that?! Come and get it!"

Slowly, a young blonde woman emerged from behind a large dumpster and looked at Dean sceptically, blood dripping down her face.

"Smell good, don't I? I taste even better." The vampire approached Dean cautiously, obviously hesitant to attack an armed man.

"Come on! Free lunch!" Dean yelled, dropping his machete, causing the vampire to charge him, and sink her teeth into his neck. Quick as lightening, Dean stabbed a syringe filled with dead man's blood into the vampire's neck, rendering her unconscious.

"Cutting it a bit close, don't you think?" Buffy asks behind Dean, making him jump in surprise.

"Worked, didn't it?" he replied, causing Buffy to lift her eyebrow at his blasé attitude.

"Whatever, let's just get her back to the room before the cops arrive."

* * *

The next morning found the foursome gathered around a dining room chair that was occupied by a very scared vampire.

"Please! I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know anything about a nest!"

"So you're workin solo?" Faith asked arms crossed against her chest.

"What? No! Please let me go, I don't feel good."

"That's what dead's man blood will do to ya, sister." Dean replied, leaning down menacingly.

"Just let me go. I'm telling you the truth! I took something and I can't come down!"

"Took something?" Buffy asked as gently as she could, getting an impatient look from Dean.

"Yes! I took something! I just want to come down! I can't come down." The last part of her sentence came out as a sob

"All right, look, if you tell us what happened, we'll let you go, okay?" Sam asked, bending his knees to get down to the vampire's height.

The vampire glanced at Buffy, and after receiving a nod of encouragement, started her story.

"I was at this club, Spider, on Jefferson. There was this guy, about 30 with brown hair and leather jacket. I think his name was Daryl or Dixon or something. He said he's a dealer. Anyway, he kept buying me drinks and he said he had something for me. Something new, something I've never had before. He put a few drops into my drink and that's the last thing I can really remember."

"Was the liquid red and thick?" Dean asked gruffly.

"Yeah."

"Well genius move there. That was vampire blood he dosed you with."

"What? You're crazy! He must of roofied me or something."

"Hate to tell you, girlfriend, but you just got dosed with nastiest virus out there." Faith commented nonchalantly from her corner of the room. "Look guys, I don't think she knows much more, so how about we quit dragging this out and get to business."

"Yes! Please! Let me go!"

"Sorry, sweetheart, but we can't do that. You've already killed two people, woulda killed a third tonight if we didn't stop you." Dean replied.

"No! That was just a hallucination! I didn't do it!"

"Dean, this isn't getting us anywhere. Either dust her, or I will." Buffy said, reaching for her scythe.

"Don't worry goldilocks, I got this." Dean swung his machete in a wide arc, taking the vampires head off with one fast movement, making Sam flinch as her head hit the ground.

"Aw man, no dust?" Buffy whined as she wiped blood off her leather jacket.

* * *

The next night, Buffy and Sam walked out of Spider in frustration, finding Dean and Faith waiting for them outside.

"Three girls have gone missing, all last seen here. This must be the place." Sam remarked as he walked over to Faith and Dean

"Yeah, you're not wrong." Faith replied, pointing to a 30-something man ducking up the alley with a young blonde.

* * *

Buffy and Dean caught up to the couple first, arriving just in time to stop the vampire from infecting the girl.

"Get out of here!" Buffy yelled at the young woman, as Dean punched the vampire, shocking him into dropping the blood he held in his hand. Before Dean could react, the vampire had recovered and sent him flying into a nearby brick wall, before taking off at a dead run.

"Crap! Dean! Are you okay?" Buffy asks as she helps Dean back to his feet.

"Yeah, Princess, I'm fine. C'mon!"

By the time Dean got back on his feet, Faith and Sam had caught up. Together they gave chase to the vampire, leading around an alley corner, but instead of the vampire, they found Gordon Walker and Kubrick waiting for them, guns at their side.

Without a second of hesitation, Gordon and Kubrick raised their guns and opened fire, aiming for the Winchesters.

The group dived behind a set of cars to avoid the gun fire.

"Who the heck are these guys?" Buffy asked, trying to get a glimpse of their attackers.

"Hunters. And not the friendly kind." Dean replied, "Look, I'll draw them off. You guys go and meet me back at the room."

"What?! You're crazy!" Sam yelled back.

Ignoring Sam, Dean leaped out of his hiding sport, and ran into the line of fire. Leaping onto a nearby car, Dean launched himself over a nearby fence, leading into a nearby parking lot. Kubrick quickly gave chase, leaving Gordon to finish off Sam.

Before he had a chance to corner his prey, a figure leaped down and knocked Gordon to the ground, rendering him unconscious.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Buffy yelled as Dean came into the motel room.

"Yeah. Sorry, I stopped for a slice." Dean replied as he shrugged off his jacket.

Dean could sense how tense Buffy and Sam were. Sam's reaction, he could understand, but Buffy barely knew him. Why would she care what happened to him?

"Nice move you pulled back there, Dean, running right at the weapons."

"What can I say, Sammy, I am a bad ass." Dean replied, ignoring Sam's bitch face. "So, I guess Gordon's out of jail."

"Guess so. How the hell did he find us?"

As if a light bulb had gone off in his head, Dean sprung his head up to look at Sam in realisation.

"That bitch." Before anyone could ask who he was talking about, Dean had his phone out of his pocket and to his ear.

As Dean took his conversation into another room, Buffy took the time to question Sam.

"Who the heck are these guys and why do they want your head on a patter?"

"Well you know how we told you about the Yellow-Eyed demons plan about me?" Buffy nodded her head. "When Gordon found out, he went nuts. He decided that I had to die. For the greater good, I guess."

"That's ridiculous!"

"Yeah well I guess it didn't help that we got him locked up." Sam replied with a smirk, making Buffy laugh.

Dean came stomping back into the room. "Well it seems that Gordon got a hold of Bella. Got her to tell him where we are," he growled.

"Who's Bella?" Faith asked, letting herself into the room, arms filled with fast food containers.

* * *

"Okay, here's the deal. Buffy and Faith go and track the Vampire, Sam and I will handle Gordon." Dean remarked, hiding a gun in the back of his pants.

"Hold up. Who put you in charge, Fabio?" Buffy replied, hands on her hips.

"Look sweetheart, for once could you not argue? Gordon is our problem. Not yours."

"He's right, B. Besides, vampires are kinda our specialty."

Instead of replying, Buffy huffed and stormed into the bedroom that she and Faith shared. After slamming the door that was in between the two rooms, she laid on her bed, eyes boring into the ceiling.

After being a founder member of the revised Watcher's Council, Buffy found it hard taking orders. Especially when the orders came from Dean 'I-Think-I-Know-Everything' Winchester.

_Who did he think he is? _

She's been making life changing decisions since she was 16 years old and he comes in and thinks he can overrule her? Completely ridiculous.

Buffy furrowed her brow in frustration.

Okay so maybe his plan made sense, but that's not really the point. He shouldn't be bossing her around! Even if he looked totally cute when he took charge.

_Oh I did not just think that. Get a hold of yourself, Buffy! _

What was she doing? She was acting like a teenage girl! First yelling at Dean in a random alley and now slamming doors like she was in some kind of soap opera.

She was so busy concentrating on her own melodrama she barely heard the door open. She only noticed once the door had closed behind who ever had entered the room. Without looking, Buffy assumed Faith had come to talk some sense into her.

"Faith, don't start, okay? I'll go along with Wonder boy's plan and I'll even apologize."

"Wonder boy?" Dean laughed, "I kinda like it."

Buffy shot up from her spot in the bed quicker than lightening. "What are you doing?" She asked, glaring at Dean.

Dean sighed and made his way to the bed, sitting next to Buffy.

"I wanted to talk to you. Say sorry. I'm not really used to huntin' with anyone but Sammy. I didn't mean to boss you around like I did."

"Okay." Buffy took a moment to look at Dean, and finding no sarcasm, nodded her head and said, "Good."

"Good?" Dean choked out. "You aren't gunna apologize for your little temper tantrum?"

Buffy sighed, "I guess I was overreacting a little. Maybe." Buffy stood and walked to the door. "C'mon we got some baddies to deal with."

Dean watched Buffy walk out the room and shook his head in disbelief. Hottie or not, Buffy Summer's was serious trouble. They had barely known each other a week and they couldn't keep from each other's throats.

_This was definitely a bad idea. _Dean thought as he followed Buffy out of the room.

* * *

"Sammy, I just got a call from Bela. She got us an address."

"Could be a trap?" Sam asked looking up from the gun he was cleaning on his bed.

"I don't think so. She actually warned us away from him."

Sam stood up, "Well okay let's go."

"About that. When we find him, or if he finds us... I'm just saying he's not leaving us a whole lot of options."

"Yeah I know. We've got to kill him," Sam calmly replied.

"Really? Just like that? I thought you would of been like, 'No, we can't, he's human, it's wrong.'"

Sam ignored the whiney voice Dean had used to mock him and replied, "No, I'm done. Gordon's not gonna stop until we're dead. Or till he is."

"Oh. Okay than. Well let's get this show on the road."

* * *

Sam and Dean arrived at the abandoned riverside warehouse around midnight and scoped out the dark building.

They quietly entered and made their way into the main room, finding two girls chained to the ceiling. The vampire from the club was kneeling in front of them, his head bowed. The girls were missing both of their heads.

Dean approached the vampire, knife in hand, trying to catch him by surprise. The vampires heard him approach but didn't make an attempt to move.

"Do it. Kill me."

"What happened here?" Sam asked, surveying the room.

"Gordon Walker. I never should have brought a hunter here. Never. I just, I just wanted some kind of revenge. Stupid. Exposing him to my family."

"Yeah, you're a real family man," Dean remarked with a sneer.

"You don't understand. I was desperate. I was facing eternity alone. Could you imagine a worse hell?"

"Well, there's Hell."

"I wasn't thinking. I just, I didn't care anymore. It was like I was dead already. So just go ahead. Do it."

During the conversation, Sam had been inspecting the bodies, and noticed something peculiar.

"Dean, these heads weren't cut off. They were ripped off." Sam turned to the vampire, "what did you do to Gordon?"

* * *

Faith and Buffy had gone back to the same club as the other night and had spent two hours patrolling the surrounding streets.

"Getting any tummy tingles, B?"

"I got zilch." Buffy mentally thanked the Powers That Be for that particular gift.

"Yeah I don't think he'll be showin' up any time soon. Musta scared him off the other night."

"Okay, well I hate to be that person, but maybe we should split up? Cover more ground and meet back at the hotel in two hours?"

"Five by five, B."

Buffy turned and made her way to the warehouse district. She had been walking for a little bit over an hour when she felt her stomach tighten, giving away the presence of a vampire.

_Looks like this nights perking up. _

"Come out, come out wherever you are. I would like to get some sleep sometime tonight."

Buffy heard steps behind her and turned, expecting to find the vampire from the club. Instead she found herself face to face with Gordon Walker.

Using her surprise to his advantage, Gordon swung a block of wood and caught Buffy in the side of her head, knocking her unconscious.

* * *

Faith arrived back at the motel 10 minutes later than planned.

_B is going to kill me!_

Buffy was actually younger than Faith by a year, but that didn't stop her from mothering Faith whenever Buffy thought Faith needed it. She could already hear her nagging away in Faith's ear for not arriving back in time.

_A girl goes for one week long bender without calling and all of a sudden she's 16 again._

Faith sighed as she turned the handle into the hotel room and walked in. She was surprised to find two anxious Winchesters and no Buffy.

Sam turned when he heard the door open and signed in relief. "There you guys are. We were starting to freak out."

It took a second for Faith to realise that they thought Buffy was with her. Buffy hadn't made it back.

Faith could feel the colour draining from her face, as she reached into her jean's pocket to grab her phone.

Sam looked at Dean, to see horror written all over his older brother's face. "Sammy, it's gotta be Gordon. He saw her with us." In a fit of anger, Dean swung his arm out, sending his bedside lamp crashing into a nearby wall. "He's got her and it's our fault."

Any reply Sam was going to give was interrupted by Faith's voice yelling into the phone.

"Where is she, you son of a bitch?!"

Faith took a moment to listen to the reply and shoved the phone towards Sam.

"He wants you."

Sam put the phone to his ear with trepidation.

"Gordon?"

"Factory on riverside off the turnpike. Be here in 20 minutes or the girl dies."

* * *

Buffy woke to a blinding headache.

_Ack. This is worse than a hangover. How did Giles not die after so many knocks to the head?_

As Buffy slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings.

She was tied to a chair in a disgusting factory. That's about it. She inspected the constraints on her hands and noticed they were tied together with rope.

_Amateur. Obviously never messed with a Slayer before. _

As if on cue, Gordon Walker appeared in front of her.

"Don't panic. I'm not going to hurt you. As soon as the Winchesters get here, I'll let you go."

Buffy just glared at him and manoeuvred her hands into a better position.

Gordon noticed her movement and shook his head. "I don't know if they told you, but I am a hunter. I took your weapons off you when I tied you up. Couldn't have you escaping before Sam got here."

"Look pal, I don't know what your problem is but Sam isn't a bad guy. He's on the side of good, I can promise you that."

"I think you underestimate the Winchesters."

"Yeah, well I think you underestimate me." Without waiting for a reply, Buffy broke free of her bindings and head butted Gordon, causing him to stumble back.

Gordon recovered quickly, wiping away the blood dripping from his nose.

"You shouldn't have been able to do that. You're not human."

"Sure I am. Just made sure to eat my spinach as a kid."

Gordon growled and charged Buffy, causing her to come crashing to the ground. Before he had a chance to gain the advantage, Buffy leaped up and threw him into a nearby work bench, sending the work bench into a nearby wall and Gordon the ground.

The crash had caused random items to fly across the room. Looking for a weapon, Buffy spotted a piece of razor wire and some cloth. Quickly picking it up, she pinned Gordon to the ground. Kneeling on his back, Buffy used her own leverage to decapitate Gordon in one violent movement.

Buffy slowly got off the ground and wiped her bloody hands on the cloth she used to kill Gordon.

_Why couldn't he dust? _She asked herself, looking down at Gordon's corpse.

"Holy crap! That was fricken awesome!"

Buffy jumped at the sound of Dean's voice. She turned to find both Winchesters and Faith staring at her from the doorway. Faith and Sam looked amused at Dean's outburst, while Dean himself was giving Buffy a huge grin.

"Looks like you won't be needing a rescue, B."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi All!**

**This is a total fluff chapter. Wanted something a little sweet before we got into the heavier stuff. Hope you enjoy!**

**As usual, reviews are always appreciated.**

**N.**

* * *

Chapter 5

They foursome had spent a month hunting together before heading back to Cleveland for Christmas. Most of the month had been spent working small cases. That was until Ypsilanti, Michigan.

In Ypsilanti they had killed two Demigod's posing as a middle-aged, married couple. They had been spending their Holiday Season performing ritual sacrifices.

Unfortunately, for Buffy, this brought up a lot of memories. Memories that she didn't really want to relive, especially not in front of the Winchesters.

Logically, she understood that Demigod's from her dimension would be much weaker than a Hell God from a demon dimension, but that didn't diminish her panic.

Luckily for her, the Winchester's seemed too involved in their own drama to pay her much attention.

Dean had supposedly come to terms with the fact that he was going to die. He wanted to spend his last year on Earth doing the things that mattered most. That included drinking, women and hanging with his baby brother. He wanted to have one last Christmas with Sammy before shuffling off this mortal coil.

Unfortunately for Dean, Sam was having none of it. He hadn't given up on his brother, and he didn't seem to have the same great Christmas memories that Dean did.

The struggle between the two brothers didn't end in Michigan and had continued on into Ohio.

"Dean, we don't have time to waste away spending Christmas at Slayer Central. We should be finding a way out of your deal." Sam whined as he stood beside Dean, who was putting gas in his Baby. Sam had originally planned to ask the Slayer's about Dean's deal but he still wasn't sure if they could be trusted. He still needed time.

"We said we'd take em, didn't we? Besides, we kinda owe them. If it wasn't for Faith, I'd be missing a tooth right about now." Dean turned towards the store to look at the girls. They were engrossed in the cheap novelty Christmas merchandise that the station was selling. "Besides, it would be good to have a real Christmas. All of their buds will be there. Could be a good thing, having those kind of contacts."

"Yeah, I suppose," Sam murmured.

"Lookie what we got!" Buffy announced, as she bounced over to the Impala, hands behind her back.

"What?" Dean asked with a smile.

As a response, Buffy planted a Santa hat on Dean's head. Dean looked over to Sam and saw that Faith had done the same to him.

Dean looked back down at Buffy and was met with a stunning smile. The little blonde Slayer looked so vibrant and full of life that Dean couldn't help but smile back. He found it amazing that Buffy could shine so bright, considering the darkness that came with their lives.

"Thanks, Princess."

"Ya know, one day we're gunna have a talk about this whole 'princess' thing," Buffy replied, scowling up at him.

"Whatever you like, sweetheart."

"Not getting any warmer, Deano."

Dean laughed in response and got into the Impala, followed quickly by Sam in the passenger seat, and the two girls in the back. Sam and Dean had kept their Santa hats on.

"Let's get this show on the road," Faith remarked, slapping Dean on the shoulder.

* * *

They arrived at the school around 4PM that evening. As they drove up to the faculty parking, the boys noticed a young brunette waiting for them. She barely seemed to contain herself, as she danced on the spot.

"Dawnie!" Buffy squealed from the back seat. As soon as the car came to a stop, Buffy rushed out to hug the young woman.

"Who's the kid?" Dean asked Faith, still sitting in the driver's side.

"B's kid sister."

"Didn't know she had one." Sam remarked, watching the two Summers' girls embrace

"Lot of things you two don't know." Faith replied, climbing out of the car to greet Dawn.

Sam and Dean looked at each other before heading over to introduce themselves to the youngest Summers girl.

"Dawnie, this is Sam and Dean Winchester. Sam, Dean, this is my little sister Dawn."

"Little? C'mon Buf, I may be younger, but I tower over you."

"Looks like we got that in common," Sam remarked, offering Dawn his hand to shake.

"Whatever, Sammy, you may be taller, but I'm still better looking," Dean replied, offering Dawn his hand after Sam, giving her a wink.

"Not too sure about that," Dawn murmured, giving Sam the once over. Dean's smirk quickly dropped from his face, causing Faith and Buffy to giggle.

"Look like the girl's still got it, B."

"Yeah, I just wish she lost it. Let's get our stuff and head on in. Boys, your rooms will still be the same. Meet in the war room, in about 15?"

* * *

Buffy met Dean and Sam outside the war room in exactly 15 minutes.

"Wow. Talk about punctual."

"Yeah, Dad was a bit of a drill sergeant. Became habit, I suppose," Sam replied with a shrug, tucking his hands into his jean's pockets.

"Hey, where are all the kiddies? Place seems a little quiet," Dean asked as Buffy reached for the door to the War Room.

"Most go home for the holidays. Some stay but not many. Ready to meet the rest of the gang?"

"Sure, why not?" Dean replied, with a smile.

Buffy opened the door to someone calling her name, making her grin from ear to ear.

The Winchester's stalled at the door frame, looking over the large room in shock. The War Room was covered in Christmas and Hanukkah decorations.

"We like Christmas," Buffy explained with a smile. "C'mon, you have to meet everyone."

Dean and Sam were introduced to a dark haired Slayer named Kennedy, and the bubbly, red headed Willow.

"Hi, I'm Willow! We have heard so much about you! Please have a seat! Xander will be here any moment. Giles won't be here until tomorrow, but that's okay. You'll love Giles. He's a mountain of information. Like a walking library, I guess. Which would make sense, ya know, coz he used to be a librarian."

Willow barely took a breath during her introduction, ending her speech with a large intake of breath, as she took her seat.

"Chill, Will. You'll scare em off." A cheery voice commented from the hallway.

"Xander!" Buffy exclaimed, running to the one eyed man, standing at the War Rooms door. Buffy quickly enveloped him in a hug.

"Buff. Can't breath."

"Whoops! Sorry! I got excited."

Xander untangled himself from the petite blonde Slayer and made his way to the table to introduce himself to the Winchesters.

"Xander Harris, nice to meet you," Xander said, shaking first Sam's then Dean's hand.

"Looks like the party has started without us," Faith commented, walking into the room, with Dawn and Andrew not far behind.

Soon everyone had separated into different groups, catching up or getting to know each other.

Buffy, Willow and Xander had taken over a corner of the room, catching up after months of not seeing each other. After Sunnydale, it had been hard for the three of them to stay close. Their friendship had taken a lot of damage during their last couple of years in Sunnydale, but they were slowly getting their groove back.

Kennedy and Faith were over at the main weapons case, regaling each other with their most recent battles.

Over at the war table, Dawn and Andrew were enchanted with a story that both Sam and Dean were telling. Even on the other side of the room, Buffy could tell that Dawn was already absolutely infatuated with Sam. She was hanging on to his every word as if it would be the last she would ever hear.

Buffy grinned to herself, _Poor Sammy, he won't know what hit him._

Her eyes wandered over to Dean to find him already looking at her. As if caught with his hands in the cookie jar, Dean gave Buffy a small, embarrassed smile. She smiled in return, before quickly looking to the ground with a blush.

Willow and Xander noticed the exchange and smiled at each other knowingly. Buffy blushed even harder when she noticed their look.

"So you said Giles will be flying in tomorrow?"

"Yup! I'll be picking him up from the airport in the morning so he won't be missing out on tomorrows Christmas Eve festivities," Willow replied, choosing to ignore Buffy's lame attempt at a distraction.

"Great! It's been forever since all the Scooby's have been under one roof. Plus, I've really missed him."

"Missed who?" a gruff voice asked, coming from behind Buffy, startling her.

She turned to find Dean behind her. He stepped forward to join the trio in their conversation.

"Giles." Buffy replied bluntly, shocked that Dean managed to sneak up on her.

Xander laughed at Buffy's awkward response and filled in the gaps himself.

"Giles was pretty much our mentor. All of us," Xander explained, sweeping out his arm to indicate everyone in the room. "He's now the Head Watcher. He looks after the English Branch of The Council."

Dean just nodded his head.

"So Dean, excited for tomorrow night?" Willow asked, with a large smile.

"Tomorrow night?" Dean asked, looking confused.

"Jeez, Buff, you didn't tell him? Holidays are a big deal around here. With all the death and destruction that comes with our job, we like to party down as much as possible. Christmas Eve we usually have a huge dinner and get Buffy incredibly drunk on eggnog. It's pretty much tradition," Willow explained with a huge smile.

"Oh no! No drunk Buffy this year! After last year I couldn't look any of the girls in the eye for about a month." Buffy exclaimed with a grimace.

"Woah there, what happened last year?" Dean asked very quickly.

"Buffy decided to do her very own rendition of 'Girl's Just Want to Have Fun' before passing out underneath the Christmas tree," Xander replied, barely containing his laughter. Willow didn't bother trying to hide her amusement, openly giggling at the memory.

"Jeez, Princess, how much did you drink?" Dean asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Alcohol and Buffy are very unmixy things. I know this, and yet I keep going back." Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes.

Dean laughed, and continued his conversation with the trio well into the night, sharing a couple of beers with Xander. Eventually everyone left the war room, in search of their own beds. Dean offered to walk Buffy to her room, knowing how ridiculous it sounded but not wanting to end their time together.

"I gotta say, Princess, you've made yourself quite the life here," Dean remarked, slowing down outside Buffy's room.

"It works," Buffy agreed with a nod. She leant against her door frame, looking up at him. He was looking down at his shoes, deep in thought.

"I never thought hunting could have a stable life, you know? Most hunters don't have homes. They just stay on the road, picking up jobs as they come along." Dean looked to Buffy with a deep sadness in his eyes. "When I accepted this life, I accepted a certain fate, but it's good to know that Sammy has other options."

"You say it like you don't have the same options. If Sam can have a stable life, than you can too." Buffy replied, with a confused crinkle in her brow. _Why does he look so lost?_

Realizing he had said too much, Dean straightened himself and silently cursed the beers he had consumed earlier that night.

"Sleep tight, Princess," Dean said, brushing a loose hair out of Buffy's face, shocking them both with such an affectionate gesture.

_Why now? Why did I have to meet her now? _

Dean turned and made his way to his room. As he walked around the corridor, he stopped for a moment to look back. His eyes met Buffy's before he disappeared around the corner.

* * *

Giles arrived just before lunch the next morning, to everyone's delight. He warmed to Dean and Sam instantly, and spent a lot of the day quizzing them on their hunts.

Eventually the time came for the Christmas Eve dinner. The celebration took place in the large dining hall, which had been decked out accordingly. There was a giant, heavy decorated Christmas tree, as well as additional decoration around the rest of the room.

The party consisted of about 50 guests, including the Scooby's, staff and the girl's who didn't go home for the holidays.

Christmas music played in the background, and a huge feast had been prepared. At the end of the meal, everyone had branched off to do their own things, whether it be socialising or dancing.

"So you got your Christmas after all," Sam remarked happily, sitting next to Dean. The drinks served with dinner had been surprisingly affective on both Sam and Dean. They were starting to loosen up and really enjoy themselves. For the first time, for as long as they could remember, they were actually having fun.

Dean laughed and looked around the room. _Not too bad for my last Christmas._

"Yeah no thanks to you, Grinch," Dean replied, with a smile.

"Whatever," Sam managed to reply before getting dragged off to dance with Dawn.

"Looks like those two are getting along," Buffy said brighty, taking Sam's seat.

Dean turned to face her. She was wearing tight black jeans, and a dark green sweater, which complimented her eyes perfectly.

"Sam and Dawn? I'm sure it's purely platonic."

"I wouldn't be too sure," Buffy said, nodding her head towards the dance floor.

Dean turned to see Sam looking adoringly at Dawn, as they danced. _Well that's unexpected_

"Enjoying yourself?" Buffy asked, bringing Dean's attention back to her.

Dean looked back at Buffy and noticed her unfocused eyes for the first time. _So much for not drinking._

"Yeah I am. It's nice to have a Christmas off the road. Thanks for putting us up."

"Anytime! Having you and Sam around is nice."

"I find that hard to believe, with all the trouble we've caused. I'm sure you'll be happy to see the back of us," Dean replied, half seriously, and half joking.

"No, I don't think I would be. I think I would actually be very upset to see you go."

_'See __you__ go'. Not see you and Sam go._ Dean didn't reply, he just stared into Buffy's eyes, speechless at such an innocent but heartfelt comment.

"Really, Dean. Hunting with you, it's dangerous, and sometimes I want to kill you but there is no where I'd rather be."

Dean continued to stare at Buffy in amazement, unable to believe what she could be implying.

_Snap out of it, Dean! She's only saying this because she's drunk. She doesn't really mean it. How could she? She's amazing, and you're just a high school drop out with nothin' to his name._

"Thanks, Princess." Dean muttered, looking at his hands, which were resting in his lap.

His nonchalant reply confused Buffy, but before she could ask what was wrong, Willow appeared to drag her off to the dance floor with Xander. Before leaving, Buffy leant down and squeezed Dean's hand, giving him a small smile while doing so.

* * *

For the adults, the party continued on until 2:30 the next morning, leaving plenty of time for Sam and Dean to get properly drunk. Sam had passed out about half an hour ago, giving Faith the chance to draw some very detailed, inappropriate art on his face, with Xander laughing behind her.

Dawn, Willow and Kennedy had gone to bed two hours prior. Buffy had just slurred her good nights to Giles and Andrew, before going off to find her own bed.

"Wait, Buffy! I'll walk you." Dean said, running up to her.

"Ya know, this is probably one of the most secure places in the world. Don't really need a body guard. Plus, hello! Super Strength."

"Yeah I know, I just figured you might want the company." Dean replied, giving her a sly wink. It would have been very impressive if his drunken state didn't cause the wink to come out as more of a twitch.

Buffy laughed and thanked him, continuing their walk in silence.

As they arrive at her room, Buffy turned to say good night to Dean but was silenced by how close he was to her. He reached his hand up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear.

"You know before, when you said those things about hunting with us?"

Buffy blushed at the reminder, "uh yeah?"

"I should have said something before, but these last couple of weeks, they have been the best of my life."

Buffy looked into his eyes, about to give a smartass response, but was stopped with Dean's lips meeting her own. He kissed her sweetly, more of a good night kiss. He had brought hands up to cup her face. This wasn't a passionate kiss, but a kiss of regret and longing.

Dean eventually pulled away to look at Buffy. She was breathless, with shock and desire.

"Goodnight, Buffy."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The week following Christmas, had been awkward for Buffy.

Dean had given her one of the best kisses of her life, and then proceeded to avoid her like a bad smell.

They had spent three days at Slayer Central, before the boys found a job in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and for the those three days, whenever Buffy walked into a room, Dean found a reason to leave.

She thought that once they got on the road, he would be different, but no. They made the 8 hour journey from Cleveland to Sturbridge in almost complete silence, with only Faith and Sam chatting away. If Sam and Faith noticed the tension, they were obviously choosing to ignore it.

If Buffy asked Dean a direct question, he would use as little words as he possible could to answer her, if she tried to get him alone, he would scamper off quicker than a squirrel. Buffy just couldn't understand what she had done wrong.

_I swear, one more day of this and I am going to go into hulk rage_ Buffy thought internally, as she watched Dean from the backseat of the Impala.

* * *

The week following Christmas, had been awkward for Dean.

Eight months ago, when he had made his deal, he had done it without hesitation. His little brother was dead, and he wanted him back. It was that simple.

So of course, with only four months left on this Earth, he finds the girl of his dreams. Frickin' typical.

Buffy was unlike any girl he had ever met, and on Christmas Eve, he decided to show her how he felt by kissing her.

_Idiot_.

He was going to die. He knew that. He had been trying to spend his last couple of months of his life setting up Sam for when he was gone. His main reason for meeting the Slayers was so Sammy wouldn't have to hunt alone.

He didn't expect for anyone else to mourn him. Sure Bobby, Jo and Ellen would, but not like this.

So Dean had spent the last week avoiding Buffy, hoping that she would just think he was a jerk and move on. It was killing him, treating her the way he was but he just wanted to protect her from what was coming.

He should have known Buffy wasn't going to give up that easy.

* * *

The foursome had arrived the day after Janet Dutton's murder and had gone straight to the crime scene to question her husband.

"So he seemed super evasive, right?" Dean asked everyone, as he got back into the Impala.

"Big time," Faith replied.

"I wouldn't know, I was under the sink, pulling this out," Sam said, holding up a Hex Bag.

"Great. Witches," Dean grumbled,

"Okay, this is what I'm thinkin', Sam and Deano trail Paul, make sure he's all sugar and spice, and B and I keep an eye on the house. Make sure everything is on the up and up. What you reckon?" Faith asked the group.

"Sounds good, except I think I'll go with Dean. I think I need more sleuthing experience," Buffy countered.

"Alrighty, Veronica Mars. Looks like its you and me, Stretch" Faith said with a laugh, not giving Dean a chance to object to Buffy's change of plan.

_Crap crap crap crap_

_Trying to avoid the girl, and she makes sure we're alone in a car together. Fricken perfect._

They had been following Paul Dutton all evening and had yet to see anything peculiar. They were currently watching Paul eat fast food in his car. _Riveting._

"So are we going to talk or are you going to be 'avoido guy' forever," Buffy asked Dean with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dean lied.

"Bullshit," Buffy replied, "you know exactly what I am talking about. You kissed me, Dean, and ever since then, it's like you have a total Buffy allergy."

Dean just sat silently, trying to think of something to say that would make everything better.

"Look, I just think you could do better, okay?" Dean mumbled, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"Don't you think thats my dec-"

"Shit!" Dean cried, before running over to Paul Dutton's car.

"Typical," Buffy grumbled under her breath before racing over to help Dean.

* * *

Not long after saving Paul, did Faith and Sam find Amanda body. Amanda's death lead the Hunter's to start investigating her neighbours, Tammi, Elisabeth, and Renee, who were also Amanda's friends.

While Buffy and Faith researched back at the motel, Dean and Sam had gone, the next day, to interrogate the three women.

"Well, I'm already sold on that Elizabeth chick? Did you see that victory garden of hers? Belladonna, wolfs bane, mandrake, not to mention that little flinch she threw when we mentioned the occult." Dean commented, driving away from the ladies' street.

Sam and Dean had run into all three women outside of Elizabeth's house and had a chance to question all three of them before driving back to the motel, to meet the girls.

"Well, she's definitely had a good run lately, gone up a few tax brackets; won almost too many raffles. Kinda thing a little black magic always helps with. She's not the only one either, looks like Mrs. Renee Van Allen has won almost every craft contest she has entered in the past three months," Sam replied, reading a text from Faith, about the Elizabeth and Renee's history.

"Yeah, a regular Martha Stewart huh? Except for the devil worship, I'm thinking that was the coven back there we met minus one member."

"Amanda was clearly going off the reservation, what do you think they killed her to keep up appearances?" Sam asked, sounding disgusted.

"Seems like an appearance kind of crowd, don't you think?"

"Yeah"

"If they killed the nut-job should we uh, thank them or what?" Dean asked with a laugh, expecting a scoff from Sam.

"They're working black magic too Dean, they need to be stopped," Sam replied with complete seriousness.

"Like, 'stop' stopped?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah"

"Sam, they're human."

"So are the people they're killing."

Dean took a moment to look at his brother to figure out if he was serious, before resigning himself.

"Burn witch, burn," Dean muttered under his breath.

After a few minutes of driving in silence, the Impala started to sputter and come to a stop.

"What the fu-" Dean muttered looking down at the car's dash.

"Ruby," Dean heard Sam mutter. Looking at his brother in confusion, Dean soon followed his brother's gaze to the road in front of him.

In front of the Impala stood a blonde woman, who Dean assumed was Ruby. Sam quickly exited the car, followed closely by Dean.

"Sam, listen to me, there is no time. You have to get out of town," Ruby said, without any greeting or preamble.

"So, this is Ruby, huh?" Dean asked before raising the Colt, aiming straight at Ruby's heart.

"Why don't you point that somewhere else?" Ruby replied.

"Hahaha, right," Dean sarcastically replied.

"Dean!" Sam cried, trying to catch his brother's attention before he did something stupid.

"Sam, please. Get in the car, go get your little pet slayers and leave town. Now."

"Why? I don't understand," Sam replied, confused.

Before, Ruby could reply, the cocking of the Colt interrupted her.

"How do you know about Buffy and Faith?" Dean asked, barely containing his anger.

"Are you kidding?" Ruby scoffed, "your little side trip to Slayer Central is big news. All the nasties are talking about it. Which is why you have to leave, you boys are bringing down the wrong kind of attention."

"Listen here, hot stuff, we can handle a couple of kitchen witches."

"I'm not talking about the witches, jack ass, witches are whores. I am talking about who they serve."

"Demons," Sam gasped, "they get their power from demons."

"Yeah and there's one here, now," she replied, directly to Sam. "It knows you're in town and it's going to come after you, and its way more than you can handle."

"Are you seriously going to listen to this?" Dean yelled at his brother. "She's messing with your head!"

"I'm telling you the truth," Ruby exclaimed angrily, "why are you even part of this conversation?!"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because he's my brother, you black eyed skank!"

"Oh, right, right. You care about your brother so much, that's why you're checking out in a few months, leaving him all alone?"

"Shut up."

"At least let me try and save him, since you won't be here to do it anymore."

"I said, shut up," Dean said, raising the Colt to take aim at Ruby.

"Dean, no!" Sam yelled, pushing Dean's arm away from Ruby, resulting in the two Winchester's wrestling over control, before noticing that Ruby had disappeared.

* * *

The boys busted into the motel room, startling the two girls, who were stretched out on their beds.

"What don't you get, Sam? She is a demon! One of the bad guys, remember?"

"Oh, that's funny; I remember that demon chick in Ohio, Casey? You didn't want her dead. Or, how about, Buffy and Faith? Their power comes from demons!"

"That's different and you know it! They don't use their power to kill people!"

"And neither is Ruby! Look, I know it's dangerous, that she is dangerous, but like it or not, she is useful."

"No, we kill her before she kills us."

"Kill her with what? The gun she fixed for us?"

"Whatever works."

"Dean, if she wants us dead, all she has to do is stop saving our lives."

Without replying, Dean stormed over to the sink, to splash his face with water.

"Sooo, what;s going on?" Buffy asked cautiously from her bed.

"Sammy here has picked himself up a little demon buddy." Dean replied, leaning against the counter, across from Buffy.

"Look, we have to start looking at the big picture Dean, start thinking in strategies and- and moves ahead. It's not so simple, we're not- we're not just hunting anymore, we're at war." Sam said, ignoring the girls, and addressing Dean.

"Are you feeling okay?" Dean asked, standing in front of Sam.

"Yeah, I'm fine, why do you keep asking that?" Sam replied, sitting on the edge of one of the beds

"Because you're taking advice from a demon for starters, and by the way, you seem less and less worried about offing people, it used to eat you up inside."

"Yeah, and what has that gotten me?"

"Nothing, but it's just what you're supposed to do okay? We're supposed to drive in the friggin' car and friggin' argue about this stuff. You know, you go on about the sanctity of life and all that crap."

"Wait, so- so you're mad because I'm starting to agree with you?"

"No, I'm not mad, I'm- I'm- I'm worried, Sam," Dean replied, sitting on the edge of the other bed in the room. "I'm worried because you're not acting like yourself."

"Yeah, you're right, I'm not. I don't have a choice."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Sam took a quick glance at Buffy and Faith to see them hanging on every word that Sam and Dean were saying.

Sam looked back at Dean, and cautiously replied, "You know what it's meant to mean. Everything is going to change soon and I have to be ready. I have to be stronger, I have to change."

Dean picked up on Sam's hints towards Dean's deal, and was relieved that his brother didn't out and out say it in front of the Slayers, but he was still confused.

"Change into what?"

"Into you, I gotta be more like you."

Before Dean had a chance to reply, an overwhelming pain gripped his stomach, sending him to the ground.

"Dean!" Buffy exclaimed, running to his side.

"Dean, what's happening?" Sam asked, desperately.

"I don't know. Something wrong- Feels like knives inside of me-"

"Sam, it has to be the coven," Buffy explained, kneeling next to Dean.

"Right. Faith, help me find the hex bag. Quickly," Sam said, searching through the cupboards and under the beds.

"Sam, I can't find it. It's not here," Faith replied in a panic.

"No," Sam said to himself, grabbing the Colt and checking for bullets before racing to the door. "Faith, c'mon, we're going witch hunting."

* * *

Arriving at the witch's house, Faith quickly kicked the door down, and ran into the living room, followed closely by Sam.

Sam raised the colt, and focused on the women, sitting around the altar that had been set up on the coffee table.

"Let him go," demanded Sam, through gritted teeth.

"Let who go? What are you doing? You're insane, get out!"

"I'd listen to him, sister. It's his big bro you're trying to hurt. Makes Stretch here a little antsy," Faith replied, coming to stand beside Sam.

"Get away from the altar. NOW," Sam yelled, leaving no room for discussion.

The three women back away from the alter arms raised in surrender.

* * *

Buffy wiped blood off Dean's chin. Buffy placed Dean across her lap, with his back leaning against her chest.

A small pool of blood was forming on the ground beside where they sat.

"God- ya know, been through a lot. didn't think I'd die by second rate witch." Dean choked out, spitting out more blood on the ground.

"Stop that! You are not going to die!"

"Listen, Buff, in case this doesn't end well, I just want you to kno-" Dean's sentence was interrupted by the door being kicked in by a determined looking Ruby.

"You wanna kill me? Get in line, bitch." Dean said, pushing himself off Buffy's lap.

With two steps, Ruby made it across the room, and pinned Dean to the bed. Before Buffy had time to react, Ruby had sprayed black liquid into Dean's mouth, causing him to choke and spit some out.

"Stop calling me bitch."

* * *

Sam directed the witches to stand over by the fireplace, well away from their altar.

"Stop the spell or die, five seconds."

"What?" Renee asked, obviously confused.

"Four."

"God, please no. Please don't kill us," Renee begged.

"Sammy, something fishy is going on here," Faith commented, taking in the women's reactions.

"Please, we're just trying to get Renee a lower mortgage rate," Elizabeth explained.

"Next time you point that gun at me, I'm not gonna just disappear, understand?"

"Who are you?" Buffy demanded, hovering over Dean protectively.

"Buff, this is Ruby," Dean explained. "You saved my life," Dean stated bluntly, addressing Ruby.

"Don't mention it."

"What was that stuff? God, it was ass, it tasted like ass."

"It's called witchcraft, shortbus." Ruby said, before walking out the motel, slamming the door behind her.

"You're the shortbus, shortbus," Dean muttered under his breath, staring at the door.

"Okay, what the hell is going on?!" Buffy practically shouted at Dean in annoyance.

* * *

"Okay, maybe it's not you," Sam pointed the gun at Elizabeth, "or you," gun now pointing at Renee, "but maybe, it's you," Sam finished, leaving the fun pointed at Tammi.

"I don't even know what he's talking about, what are you even talking about?" Tammi exclaimed in a panic.

"Stretch, help me out here. What are you talking about?" Faith asked, confused.

"One of these 'witches' is actually a demon, and I'm putting my money on Tammi here," Sam replied, without taking his eyes of Tammi.

"I mean, all of you, everyone in your little coven, you've all had runs of good fortune, news worthy good fortune, except for you Tammi, " Sam explained," Now tell me, why is that? You didn't want anything for yourself? Or is it because you're already getting what you wanted, like these women's souls."

"I can't- I-I'm not- I-I-I don't-," Tammi begin, before sighing and putting her arms down in defeat, going from frightened to calm. Her eyes changed to black revealing her true nature.

"Nice dick work Magnum," Tammi said.

"Let me brother go."

"What's the matter? Couldn't find the hex bag? Sorry, sweetheart, but your brother's lungs should be on the floor by now."

As a response, Sam fired the Colt, aiming straight for Tammi's heart.

The bullet flew towards Tammi, and just as it was about to reach its target, Tammi raised her hand and halted the bullet's movement, much to the astonishment of both Elizabeth and Renee.

"You're in trouble, Sam," Tammi mocked, before mentally pinning Sam to the wall.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Faith countered, coming from behind Tammi and round-house kicking her in the head, causing the demon to barely stumble, catching Faith off guard.

"I am not a vampire, little girl, I don't hurt so easy," Tammi laughed, knocking Faith across the room, causing her to crash into the fireplace. Faith's head impacted against the structure solidly, knocking her unconscious.

"Faith!" Sam yelled, silently cursing himself for not being able to check on his friend.

"Tammi, what are you going?" Renee asked in astonishment.

"Renee, shut your painted hole"

"What? I-I will- You can't- Not in my house Tammi Fenton!"

Tammi waved her right hand, causing Renee's neck to be jerked so far to the right, it looked to be almost completely backwards, killing her instantly.

Elizabeth screeched in terror.

"Tammi, you got me. Let the girl go," Sam begged.

"Shh, you wait your turn," Tammi replied, before walking over to Elizabeth, "Shhh, Lizzie, it's okay."

"You're not Tammi."

"No, but I'm wearing her meat. I had to break the ice with you girls somehow."

"Who are you?"

"Funny story, actually. You remember all those dark demonic forces you prayed to, when you swore your servitude? Just who did you think you were praying to?"

Elizabeth stared at the demon in astonishment.

"What did you think it was? Make believe? Positive thinking? The Secret? No, it was me. You sold yourself to me, you pig."

"No, no, we didn't know-" Elizabeth tried to counter, before being interrupted by Tammi.

"Oh, yes you did. You knew every step of the way, and now your ever living souls are mine."

Tammi turned to Sam, with a wicked smile.

"Comments? Questions? Hmm, Sammy Winchester, wow! Right here in our little town. You know, my friends and I, we've been looking for you."

"Why? Oh, right, cause I'm supposed to lead some piss poor demon army."

"No, not at all. You're not our Messiah, we don't believe in you. But, there's a new leader rising in the west, a real leader. That's the horse to bet on Sam, the one who's gonna tear this world apart. Thing is, this demon, it doesn't like you very much, doesn't want the competition," Tammi raised her finger, causing Sam to be pushed further into the wall, "Nothing personal, it's a P.R. thing, so, buh-bye."

Sam's death was stalled by Dean Winchester crashing through the door, shot gun in hand. Without missing a beat, the demon mentally flung Dean over the sofa, before pinning him to the wall.

"Two Winchesters, for the price of one. Lovely." Tammi quipped, not noticing the blonde slayer rushing towards her.

Buffy crashed into Tammi, tackling her to the ground. Tammi quickly head butted Buffy, making her instantly dizzy. Tammi took the advantage and was soon straddling Buffy, hands around her throat.

"Always wanted to finish a Slayer and now I might get two? Today is a good day."

"Wait!" Ruby exclaimed from the doorway, hands up in surrender, "Please, I just came to talk."

"What do you want Ruby?"

"I've been lost without you, take me back. I'll do anything. That's why I led the Winchesters here."

_Told you! _Dean mouthed to Sam.

"Let me serve you again, I've wanted it, I've wanted you for so long." Ruby continued, missing Dean and Sam's interaction.

"You _were_ one of my best," Tammi hesitated.

Ruby quickly grabbed the opportunity to stab Tammi with her knife, which Tammi easily blocked, flinging Ruby across the room, "But then again, you always were a lying whore."

Tammi stanched over to Ruby and started beating her with a heavy brutality.

Eventually, after revealing Ruby's human life, as a witch, Tammi knelt over Ruby, and started chanting, causing black smoke to start rising out of Ruby's mouth

Tammi had forgotten about the blonde Slayer, until it was too late. Buffy used Tammi's distraction, wrapping one arm around her ribs, and another around her mouth. Without hesitation, Buffy plunged Ruby's knife straight into her side, instantly killing her.

"Wow, this knife is nifty!" Buffy quipped, throwing the knife to the ground, next to Ruby.

Ruby got up off the ground, grabbing the knife.

"Get out of here. I'll clean up the mess." Ruby said, addressing the ground, too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye.

* * *

Dean had spent the last twenty minutes walking the streets that surrounded the motel. He had hoped that going for walk by himself would help clear his head, but he was having little luck.

Earlier tonight, when he thought he was going to die, the only thing that he could think of was Buffy. Not his mum, not his dad, none of his friends. Not even Sammy. Only Buffy. The only thing he felt was sorrow that he had to leave her.

Dean didn't understand why he was feeling these things. He'd known this chick for barely three months, and now she seemed to be consuming his every thought.

He knew he made the right decision in saving Sam. He would never doubt that. He just wished he could find a better way, a way that would let him have both Sam and Buffy.

_Give it up Dean, the world ain't perfert and you sure as hell don't deserve apple pie life. _

Dean slowly walked back to the motel to find Ruby waiting for him in the parking lot.

"So the devil may care after all, is that what I'm meant to believe?"

"I don't believe in the devil."

"Wacky night. So let me get this straight, you were human once, you died, you went to hell, you became a-"

"Yeah," Ruby answered, before Dean had a chance to finish his question.

"So all of 'em, every damn demon, they were all human once."

"Everyone I've ever met. Most of them have forgotten what it means, or even that they were. That's what happens when you go to hell, Dean. That's what hell is, forgetting what you are."

Dean just looked at Ruby, not bothering with a response.

Ruby turned to leave, but stopped, turning back to Dean, "The answer is yes by the way."

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes, the same thing will happen to you. It might take centuries, but sooner or later hell will burn away your humanity. Every hell bound soul, every one, turns into something else. Turns you into us, so yeah, you can count on it."

"There's no way of saving me from the pit is there?"

"No."

"Then why'd you tell Sam you could?"

"So he would talk to me, you Winchesters can be pretty bigoted"

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I need your help. The slayers help too."

"Help with what?"

"With Sam. The way Buffy stuck that demon tonight, it was pretty tough. Sam's almost there, but not quite, you need to help me get him ready, for life without you; to fight this war on his own." With that last comment, Ruby vanished.

* * *

Dean breathed in deep after Ruby left. He told Sammy there was no way to save his soul, but deep down, he always had hope. Hearing that there was no chance, well, it wasn't exactly a picnic.

Dean turned around to head back into the motel room, but before he could head inside he spotted Buffy leaning against the motel's wall, well within earshot of the conversation he just had with Ruby.

_Oh crap._

Dean made his way over to Buffy, noticing how tense her body was.

_Please don't hit me_

"When were you going to tell me?" Buffy asked, expressionless.

"Honestly? I have no clue."

"So, we were just going to travel together until you dropped dead? No 'bye Buffy'? Do I mean so little to you?" Buffy demanded, pacing back and forth

"Buffy, stop. It's not like that." Dean tried to explain, placing a hand on each of her shoulders to stop her from pacing.

"No? Than what is it? Why aren't you finding a way out of it?"

"God, Buf, it's more complicated than that! I sold my soul to save Sammy. He was dead and if I try and get out of my deal, he'll die. That's why I didn't want to tell anyone. I can't risk his life."

"There has to be a way!"

"No Buffy! Don't you get it? It's either me or him!" Dean yelled in response.

Dean and Buffy stared at each other for what felt like hours. Tears had welled up in Buffy's eyes.

"I am not going to let you die, do you understand me? Not now, not after everything we've been through. I am not going to let it happen," Buffy ranted, tears falling down her face. "I don't care what you say, there has to be a way. I'll call Willow, or-or Giles will know something. Anything."

Dean wiped the tears from her face and kissed her sweetly.

"In less than four months, I am going to die," Buffy tried to pull away from Dean, but he pulled her back and cupped her face with his hands, "Stop. Listen to me, Princess. _I am going to die._ But I want to die with you knowing how exactly how I feel about you."

With those words he pulled Buffy into a long passionate kiss. He kissed her with everything he had, only pulling away when a soft moan escaped from the back of her throat.

"You're it Buffy, you're the one, and I am damn grateful that I get to spend my last four months on Earth with you. I wish it could be longer, I really do, but I rather live four months, spending every waking moment with you, than live forever never knowing you."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

**Hi guys!**

**I am so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I have had a bit of writer's block, but hopefully everything should be smooth sailing from now on. **

**It's a pretty small chapter but the next couple of chapters will be pretty big, so hopefully that will make up for it.**

**Anyway, enjoy! Please review :)**

**Disclaimer: I think we all know, I own nothing**

* * *

Chapter 7

Dean sat in the empty bar, nursing his whisky neat. He had spent the last two hours in the same seat, trying to clear his mind of everything that had happened on their last case.

Their last job took them to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Bobby had fallen into a mystical coma due to a punk ass kid's addiction to sleep root.

They had saved the day but not only had it cost them The Colt, thanks to Bella, but it had also forced him to accept some truths that he had been trying to deny for months.

Sam and Dean had used African Dream Root to try and defeat the kid, and save Bobby. It had sounded simple, but the drug had seeped into Dean's mind, and forced him to witness all his fears. It had made him witness a life he knew he would never get to live.

Dean had spent the last couple of months trying to convince Sammy, and himself, that this is what he wanted. That he was okay with dying.

After using the Dream root, he couldn't lie to himself anymore.

While under the affects of the dream drug, Dean had been confronted with his dream world. Himself, living the apple pie life with Buffy Summer's as his wife, with a white picket fence, and his Baby in the driveway. It was damn near perfect

It didn't take long for the dream to shift to his worst nightmare, himself as a demon.

Demon Dean threw every single one of Dean's insecurities in his face.

_You are nothing. You're as mindless and obedient as an attack dog._

_You think she actually loves you? You're dead inside, how could she love that?_

_You can't escape me, Dean. You're gonna die. And this, this is what you're gonna become. _

_Daddy's blunt little instrument_

He could still hear the words in his own voice. They cut into him like a knife.

He knew Buffy was too good for him; the girl was practically a Goddess, but having to face his own daddy issues hurt more than he thought was possible.

He had spent his whole life obeying his father, making sure he did everything his dad said, and it was never good enough. Dean had spent his whole life protecting Sammy, to the point that he had given up his life to save his brother. He had nothing in his life outside of Sam.

That was, until he met Buffy. In a crystallising moment, he remembered the shining light she brought into his life. He remembered the love she had for him, and it seemed like nothing Demon Dean could say would take that away from him.

So he fought back, he beat down his own subconscious, and it made him realise something very important. He had found something that made him want to live, something to make him find a way to survive. He had _her_.

* * *

"Dean, you've been here for hours. Buffy was starting to get worried," Sam said, pulling up a chair next to Dean.

"I just needed time to clear my head," Dean mumbled into his drink.

"Right," Sam replied, drawing out the word sarcastically.

"Seriously, Sam, this is the best I have felt in months. Doesn't mean I couldn't use a hard drink."

Sam laughed, and ordered himself a beer, "yeah, I guess I could use a drink myself. Look, Faith and I were talking, and we think the two of us should head back to Cleveland. We think the rest of the team might be able to help us with your deal."

"Yeah, that's a great idea, but why don't Buffy and I go with you? I mean, my deal, remember? I should probably be comin' with."

"We think you and Buffy should be alone. Spend some time together, ya know, just in case," Sam replied, taking a long drag of his beer.

"In case of what, Sammy?"

"In case we don't find a way out of your deal."

An awkward silence followed Sam last statement. Dean knew his brother was right. He may want to live now, but that didn't mean he was going to.

"Thanks, Sammy," Dean said, clapping a hand on his brother's shoulder, and with a smile, continued, "But are you sure you're not going all the way to Cleveland to see a certain young brunette?"

Instead of replying, Sam went immediately red, and took a swig of beer, causing Dean to crack up in laughter.

* * *

Buffy was crazy about Dean. Surprisingly crazy, considering she's known him for all of five minutes. But, as usual, Buffy managed to fall for a guy with major issues. Like 'about to die' kinda issues.

_Someday I'll manage to find a guy that fits between 'going to die soon' and 'going to live forever'. _

It had been two weeks since Buffy had found out about Dean's deal. In that time, Dean and Buffy had spent their time in between cases just sitting. Sitting, and talking.

They didn't talk about anything in particular. They certainly didn't talk about Dean's deal. They talked about their childhood, their fondest memories, and the weirdest things they killed.

It was surprising how easy they fell into 'dating'. It wasn't even a thought. Overnight, without meaning to, they had become a couple.

I mean, they weren't all over each other, or anything, but they were clearly 'together'.

What was surprising were Faith and Sam's reaction. The night of their witch hunt, after Dean and Buffy's confrontation, they had walked back into the motel room holding hands.

Faith took one look at them and sighed, "About damn time. The sexual tension was killin me."

"Tell me about it. One more drawn out love stare, and I think I would have killed 'em both," Sam replied with a snort.

After their last case, something in Dean changed. He had always avoided talking about his deal. As far as he was concerned, he was going to die, and he didn't want to waste their last month's together trying to stop something that was inevitable.

But as soon as Dean had woken up from his weird dream coma, he had walked straight over to Buffy, kissed her fiercely and passionately, and declared that he wasn't ready to die, and that he wanted to find a way to survive.

So Sam and Faith were off to Cleveland, and Buffy and Dean would make their way to their next hunt.

Alone.

Things got kinda awkward after that.

"Do we still get separate motel rooms? Or does that sound too prudey? Or does assuming that we're sharing a room seem too slutty? Maybe I should just com-"

"B, would ya quit it? It's going to be fine! You and Deano need this time together, believe me," Faith replied, wiggling her eyebrows in Buffy's direction. "Besides, I'm _dying_ to find out what's goin' on with little Dawnie and Stretch."

* * *

Dean and Buffy had dropped off Faith and Sam at the car rental place, and started their 7 hour drive to their next case, in Bedford, Virginia.

The town had been experiencing some vicious animal attacks, right around the same time as a full moon.

Buffy and Dean had arrived and booked into a motel. They had decided on one room that had two queen beds.

Shortly after investigating, they had been surprised to discover that the attacks were actually because of a giant bear, and not a werewolf.

Returned to their room, Dean sat down on his bed in shock.

"I swear this has never happened before. Something seems weird, it usually is."

"Don't worry, Sport, you'll get em next time." Buffy joked, sitting next to Dean on the bed

"Ha ha, very funny. Really didn't help you cracking up in the coroner's office. He thought you had gone off your rocker!"

"Yeah, but your face was worth it," Buffy replied with a giggle, before slipping into awkward silence.

They were alone. Totally alone. What now? Other than a few stolen kisses, they haven't really been intimate, and now they were alone, it felt like there was this pressure behind everything they could potentially do.

Dean had wanted to get Buffy alone for months, and now he finally had, he had no idea how to go about it. Him! Dean Winchester! Not knowing how to seduce a woman.

All thoughts of seduction left Dean's mind with Buffy's next sentence.

"I've died before, ya know," Buffy blurted out awkwardly.

"You di- what?" Dean asked, confused.

"Twice, actually. I mean, the first time, I was only dead for like a minute. The second time, though. That one was a bit longer. But what I mean is, the first time I died, I knew it was coming. There was this big prophecy that said the Slayer would die, at the hands of the Master, and I did, but Xander, he gave me CPR and brought me back, and I guess what I am trying to say is, I know what it's like, to know you're going to die and to feel like there is nothing you can do. I get it," Buffy rambled, finishing her speech with an intake of breath.

Dean didn't reply. He couldn't. His mind was going into over drive. He was picturing Buffy laying there, on the ground, beaten and bruised, her eyes opened but no life shining through.

He felt like he couldn't breathe, like a hole had been ripped through his chest.

"Dean, please, say something," Buffy begged, turning to face him.

"You died?" Dean whispered, staring at his feet.

"Yeah," Buffy replied, and with a small pause, she continued, "but look! I am still here," Buffy cupped Dean's face, forcing him to look into her eyes, "and I am completely fine."

Buffy drew Dean into a slow kiss, before pulling back, looking back into his eyes.

Dean pulled away from Buffy, and got off the bed, "I just need a minute," Dean murmured.

Buffy had died, and that very thought crushed him. Realistically, he knew that it was amazing she had lived this long. Slayers didn't usually have the longest life expectancy. Dean had just never thought what that really meant.

Dean turned back to look at Buffy. She was still sitting on the bed, looking down at her feet. How did things get so messed up? A year ago, he was hunting with his brother, kicking evil ass. Now, he was alone in a motel with a beautiful blonde, just months away from his death, and instead of trying to sleep with her, he was contemplating her death.

"Screw it," Dean said out loud, startling Buffy to look up at him.

Before she had a chance to question him, Dean's lips crushed against hers, pushing her down on the bed. Dean continued to passionately kiss Buffy, picking her up, lips still connected, and moved them to the top of the bed.

Buffy's hands moved from Dean's back, to his hips, pushing his shirt up and over his head, before reaching down and quickly taking off her own.

Dean paused, staring down at Buffy, taking in how beautiful she looked, before leaning down and continued to kiss her, slowly making his way down her cheek, to her neck, collarbone, and her breasts, before coming back up to her mouth.

Buffy undid Dean's pants, in a rush, while he undid hers, stopping their kissing to kick their pants off onto the floor. Soon only their underwear was the only things separating their bodies.

Dean peeled off Buffy's underwear, before leaning down to get a condom out of his bag.

"You actually carry them around?" Buffy scoffed.

"It's always good to be prepared, Princess," Dean replied with a wink, making Buffy laugh, as he leaned back down to kiss her.


End file.
